Areti Ketime

Areti Ketime (Greek: Αρετή Κετιμέ) (Athens July 26, 1989) is a singer and santoor player from Greece. She sings traditional Greek songs of various music genres.

Ketime was born and raised in Athens, but her origins come from the greater area of Mesolongi. She started learning santoor at the age of 6, from the nameable teacher Aristidis Moschos and the Belarussian virtuoso Aggelia Tkatsieva. When she was twelve (2001) Moschos died and she did not have the a way to learn new songs on the santoor. This is how she started singing.

In the same year, Areti was "discovered" by the noted Greek musician, George Dalaras, who introduced her to the Greek audience. During that period, she joined him in several performances in the music venue "Zygos" (Athens).A year later, she played with George Dalaras, Glykeria and Estudiantina Orchestra in a tribute concert about Asia Minor in Herodion, Athens.

One of the most significant moments of Ketime’s life and music career took place in 2004, when she participated in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Athens, playing and singing the traditional song "Mes stou Egeou ta nisia" ("Into the Islands of the Aegean").

In 2005, she participated in the Greek tragedy play "Oedipus Rex" in Epidaurus, as a member of the "Chorus" led by George Dalaras. The music was by Goran Bregovic. George Kimoulis was both stage director and leading actor, accompanied by the grand dame of the Greek Theatre, Nonika Galinea. During the same year, she made common appearances with Estudiantina Orchestra in several traditional festivals around Greece. She also took part in a tribute concert in the memory of Apostolos Kaldaras, along with Melina Aslanidou, Stelios Dionysiou and Andreas Karavotas.

In 2006, she made several common appearances with the nameable Greek clarinet player Manos Ahaliniotopoulos and continued performing with Estudiantina Orchestra.

In 2008, she appeared in the Music Hall of Thessaloniki, singing "Byzantine Hymns of the Holly Week", along with the Band of Traditional Music of the Municipality of Thessaloniki, directed by maestro Paris Gkounas.

Also, one of her most unforgettable experiences was her performance at the Patriarchate of Alexandria for the Patriarchate's Library inauguration ceremony, along with Grigoris Papaemanouel.

Later in 2008, she took part in a concert titled "Kyklamina" ("Cyclamens") in which she performed a series of songs called "Tragoudia tis Ksenitias" ("Songs of the Foreign Lands") along with George Kotsinis in Aristi, Epirus. The music performance was directed by musicologist - composer George E. Papadakis.

In 2009, Areti Ketime played at "Kyttaro Club", along with Eleni Vitali and Haig Yazdijian.

In 2010 she teamed up with Turkish singer Dilek Koc in a concert titled "The songs of our mutual tradition", in which they mostly performed common songs of Greece and Turkey. The concert took place in Half Note Jazz Club.

In the same year, she played with the Orchestra "Mikis Theodorakis" in a concert for Mikis' Theodorakis 85th birthday.

Ketime also took part at Onassis Cultural Center's concerts dedicated to the important Greek composers, Stavros Kougioumtzis and Dimitris Lagios and the author Panait Istrati. In these concerts, she played along musicians and singers such as Dimitris Papadimitriou, Maria Farantouri, Pantelis Thalassinos, Manolis Lidakis, Orfeas Peridis, Foreini Velesiotou.

In 2011 she performed the Byzantine Hymns of the Holy Week live on TV shows, along with Charilaos Taliadoros and Christos Chalkias.

In 2012 she performed a concert titled "Smirneiko Minore", with Glykeria and Dilek Koc. It was a tribute to the traditional music of Asia Minor.

During the season 2013 - 2014, Ketime played with Tsahouridis brothers (Konstantinos & Mathaios) singing a series of Pontian Songs.

In 2015 she participates as a musician in children's theatre version of "Erotokritos", at "Kappa" Theatre, which was directed by Ilias Karellas.

Also, she played with Vassilis Saleas and his sons, Nikos and Stamatis, at the TV Show "Oloi oi kaloi horane" on Epsilon TV in Greece.

In May 2015, Areti Ketime made her first North American Tour, in which she was accompanied by a six-piece band of musicians and also by her mentors and instructors in Byzantine Music, the brothers Grigoris and Petros Papaemmanouil, chanters and professors of Greek Traditional Music in their own right. She performed in Montreal ("Laografia" Festival, along with Nikos Filippidis Band) and then in New Jersey, Baltimore, New York, Boston and Connecticut

Also, in 2015, Ketime collaborated with the famous German DJ Shantel on the bilingual song "EastWest/Dysi Ki Anatoli", which is included in Shantel's new album, VIVA DIASPORA.

This season (2015 – 2016) Areti Ketime is taking part in the children's theatre play "To Monon tis Zois mou Taksidion" ("the only journey of my life"), along with Kostas Arzoglou and Ilias Karelas' children troupe.

"I feel blessed because, all these years, I had the joy and the honor to work with outstanding musicians and singers, performing in festivals and concerts around the country and abroad.", Ketime said on an interview in Greece.

Discography

2010 - Me tin Foni tis Aretis (With Areti's voice)

2011 - Kali sou tihi (Good Luck to you)

2012 - Pinakas Zografikis (A Painting)

2014 - Aidonaki mou (Nightingale)

External links

• Areti Ketime Official YouTube Channel
• Areti Ketime performing "Nanourisma" (Lullaby)
• Areti Ketime - Opening Ceremony (Athens 2004)
• Areti Ketime live in New York (North American Tour 2015)
• Areti Ketime live in Israel
• Areti Ketime & DJ Shantel (Interview)
• Areti Ketime & DJ Shantel: East - West (Dysi kai Anatoli)
• Areti Ketime Official Facebook Page